The invention relates generally to an image forming device, and more particularly, to an image forming device having a multimode duplexer.
An image forming device, such as a color printer, typically includes four units associated with four colors, black, magenta, cyan and yellow. Each unit includes a laser printhead that is scanned to provide a latent image on the charged surface of a photoconductive unit. The latent image on each unit is developed with the appropriate color toner and is then transferred to either an intermediate transfer medium or directly to a substrate (such as paper) that travels past the photosensitive units. The resulting full-color image is dependent on the combination of each color toner transferred to the substrate one line at a time. The toner on the substrate is then fused to the substrate in a fuser assembly, and the substrate is transported out of the printer. Thus, in a typical multi-color laser printer, the substrate receives color images generated at each of the four image units.
An image forming device may form an image on one or both sides of the substrate. Two-sided printing is called duplex printing. For duplex printing, an image is formed on one side of the substrate and then the substrate is returned to the device for printing on the other side of the substrate.
The image forming device, like all consumer products, should be constructed in an economical manner. Price is one of the leading factors when a user makes a purchasing decision. Further, quality of the resulting product is another factor for users. Cost and quality are thus guiding factors in the design and manufacture of image forming devices.